Wrap Me Up In Cranberry Love
by SISbabyy
Summary: Brooke hated Thanksgiving. And this year wouldn't be any different. Right? Full summary inside!


A Brucas Thanksgiving Story along with Naley and Jeyton!

"Wrap Me Up In Cranberry Love"

Summary: Brooke Davis hated Thanksgiving. She always had, even when she was little. She hated how other families had their parents with them the whole night, their whole families in tow, and she especially hated all the talking and laughter that came out of the crowd. Thanksgiving always left her with a broken heart and a bitter mind. But what happens when people show up at her door that she never thought possible? Will Brooke's opinion be changed?

**A/N****: Okay, grab some hot chocolate, cookies, and some peppermint because you have a long journey ahead! This is the longest one-shot I have ever written and it probably doesn't qualify as a one-shot but I just didn't have the heart to shorten it into two or three parts.**** And really, this was not expected.**** Also, this is obviously past Thanksgiving but I just couldn't get it out in time because of how long I made it.**** I'm actually really nervous about posting this; one because I haven't written a story in a little while and two, this is very very long! But I had so much fun writing it so I hope you have fun reading it and don't forget to drop a review at the end! Oh and this is one of those one-shots where you can listen t****o your favorite Christmas song****s and it will fit through t****he whole thing! ****Well I've talked enough! Enjoy!**

Thanksgiving

It was a time of all happiness and joyfulness. People would gather around their tables, eat until they had to unbutton their pants, and laugh until the sky turned black. And Brooke Penelope Davis hated everything about it. She never liked this holiday and she knew she never would. When Brooke was little, Thanksgiving was anything but giving thanks. It was all about being home with a nanny and eating alone. After her dinner, she would go straight to bed and the night would be over. There was no earth-shattering jokes being passed around, no smiles that made your face hurt, and definitely no love shown. Ever since then, Brooke had grown very bitter about this holiday and it wasn't going to change this year.

Brooke blamed her parents for most of it though, and she blamed them the most for ruining this holiday for her. Everyone at school couldn't wait to go and be on break for Thanksgiving. After all, it was when all of their long distance family members flew in, and everyone finally saw each other after a whole year of barely any contact. It was a night of re-connecting and Brooke really just couldn't understand it.

This year, she was going to be just as lonely. She was 21, living off campus in a very nice apartment (thanks to her parents), and had absolutely no one to spend the holiday with. She of course still decorated, because she wouldn't be the Brooke Davis that she was now if she didn't like decorating and creating her own ideas if she didn't. She hung up the fall lights, bought little pilgrim statues, and even went out and bought herself a turkey. Why she did that last one, she had no idea because she couldn't cook very well.

Nonetheless, she began setting up the silverware for the table, with the tablecloths spread across, and the long, slim candles in the middle with a nice fall centerpiece. She smiled. Maybe there was _one_ good thing about Thanksgiving…she would always decorate the way she liked. When she was younger, the nanny felt so bad about her being alone on Thanksgiving all night that she let Brooke decorate everything the way she wanted. Brooke loved it so much it was probably one of the reasons she was taking fashion now.

She still missed everyone though. She hadn't been the best at keeping in touch with everyone with being busy and trying to forget the years known as high school. She still loved everyone. Haley, Nathan, Lucas, Mouth, Peyton, Jake, Rachel, and even Karen and Deb were still very dear to her heart. She just wished she could tell them all that. Even Keith, may he rest in peace, was still in her heart. She remembered when he died and Lucas just completely fell apart. She hadn't seen that side of Lucas before and she remembered being scared but strong for him. And even now whenever she thinks about it she gets a pang in her heart, because she knows how hard it was for him and she remembers the hurt she felt when he left her out.

Shaking those thoughts away and putting on one of her famous smiles, Brooke walked into her kitchen ready to tackle the turkey.

"This shouldn't be too hard, right?" She whispered to the cookbook sprawled out in front of her.

Since she could barely lift it though, that comment was quickly pushed aside. She didn't want to call someone and have them do this for her, because she didn't want to seem like she was desperate or alone. Although, who exactly was she cooking for anyways?

She sighed and left the turkey on the counter. She walked over to the window and hoped that some snow was falling. None was, and she figured that this was how her luck was going to be for the rest of her life.

There was one other thing Brooke looked forward to around Thanksgiving though. Cranberries. She loved the way they tasted, the color they were since red was Brooke's color, and how fun it was to make. She distinctively remembered the Thanksgiving nights when she would add nuts and whipped cream to them and just whatever concoction she wanted. It was actually the only thing she knew how to make, so she made it everyday for about 4 years, but nobody knew that. She realized that she had all the ingredients to make it, and decided now would be the best time.

"This is ridiculous!" She exclaimed, "I shouldn't be sulking here! I am Brooke freaking Davis and I will not sulk on Thanksgiving no matter how much I dislike this holiday!"

After the cranberries were up and running she stored them in the refrigerator, smiling at how proud of herself she was for making them, and smiling because of how great her mood was.

She marched over to the turkey on the table and began cutting the wrap that it had on. She was determined to cook her own meal and to be proud of herself for doing it. After the wrap was off of the turkey she placed the turkey in a big tub with water in it. _'That looks okay, right?'_

Just then she heard the doorbell ring and she walked over to the door, sighing.

"Who is it?" She asked before she opened the door.

"Us," A muffled voice said from the other side of the door.

"What?" She wondered aloud and opened the big wooden door. What she saw made her legs wobble and her whole body to go numb. But surprisingly, her mouth was still in tact so she smiled wide and invited them in.

All who stood at the door were Haley, Nathan, Peyton, Jake, Mouth, Rachel, Karen, Deb and…no Lucas. She felt a bolt of disappointment but let it go. She was just happy to see her friends!

"What are you all doing here?" Brooke asked, unable to keep the high pitched excitement in her voice.

"Well we got a call from someone who remembered this wasn't your favorite holiday and we figured since we haven't heard from you in a long time and we mean _long_ time we decided to come over!" Haley explained.

"I'm really sorry about that, you guys. I didn't mean to but I was just so busy and…"

"Save it B. Davis we don't need your excuses. Just don't let it happen again, okay? We missed ya!" Peyton yelled and went over and hugged her best friend, Jake in tow.

Brooke's mouth formed a perfect O and she screamed, "Are you back with Jake Jagelski?"

Peyton blushed profusely and everyone laughed, "Well no, actually were just taking it slow…"

"Like last time when you were late to Keith and Jules' wedding?"

"Brooke!" Peyton exclaimed.

"Actually Brooke, you're right but I guess you beat me to the punch. I was going to ask you tonight Peyton if you wanted to officially go out with me again. I mean, we go to the same college and we would see each other all the time…"

Jake didn't even get to finish because Peyton's lips were already pressed against his.

"Okay guys, PDA in my apartment is not going to happen on this holiday so swap spit later!"

"I agree," Nathan chimed in and went over to hug Brooke, "It's so good seeing you again Brooke."

"You too Nathan," She whispered in his ear, "You have no idea how much I've missed you guys."

"Well we had a feeling…" An outside voice said as the door slithered open. Brooke's face was glowing and she couldn't help but squeal. Lucas Scott had just walked through her door and Brooke had no idea what to about it. So she did was she did best and hugged him right when he walked in.

"Lucas! What are you doing here?" She asked while she was still hugging him.

"Lucas was the one to set everything up," Haley said.

Lucas? Lucas was the one that had everyone come to her house? He was the one who remembered Thanksgiving wasn't the greatest holiday for her? He was the one who thought of her?

"Wow," She whispered to him and she and Lucas made eye contact for the first time in two years. It sent chills up her spine.

The moment was broken when Karen and Deb wanted to hug Brooke also.

"You've done so well for yourself Brooke! I'm so proud of you." Karen told her as she held her tight. It meant a lot coming from Karen, the only mother figure in her life. She was happy Karen was here for the support.

"Brooke you've made this place amazing. No wonder why you want to go into fashion, you have a talent." Deb said as she looked around. Brooke then went up and hugged her, just happy that someone had recognized her talent. She hadn't had much encouragement this past year and it felt good to hear it again.

"Okay well let's just not stand in the hallway all night let's get on with it!" Karen announced and went to go and find the kitchen.

"Get on with what?" Brooke wondered aloud. Rachel and Mouth strutted towards her.

"It's so good to see you Brooke," Mouth said sincerely and hugged her.

"Yeah it was weird being the biggest whore in college. You really need to come back Brooke." Rachel said and Brooke laughed. She definitely missed the name calling.

Rachel hugged Brooke and whispered in her ear, "Mouth and I have something to tell you."

"Okay, shoot."

"We're going out!" Mouth exclaimed. Brooke's mouth was hanging open. Okay, this night was getting even weirder.

"Does anyone else know?" She asked. They both shook their heads no.

"You guys that's amazing! I knew you two would work out!" Brooke exclaimed and hugged them both again, even though she had no idea how they even got together in the first place.

"Now come and help me!" She demanded and they laughed and followed her through the hallway.

- -

Karen and Haley were tackling the kitchen and trying to find out what Brooke did with the turkey.

"Brooke, you do know that you're supposed to leave the turkey out for a long time so it cleans out and you can eat it right?" Haley asked.

"Actually, not so much," Brooke admitted and gave a shy smile.

"No sweat; we knew that this would happen so we brought our own." Nathan called from down the hall where he and Lucas were carrying a very large, very tasty looking turkey on a silver platter.

Brooke laughed, "Did you guys just need a place to crash at or what?"

"Where should I put my sleeping bag?" Mouth called from the doorway.

"I call the couch!" Rachel yelled.

"You guys are spending the night?" Brooke asked, "What is this? An orphanage?"

"You didn't think we would just stop by and leave did you?" Peyton asked.

"Well I didn't even know you guys were coming so…" Brooke began but was cut off by the sound of giggling in the kitchen. Peyton peered in the kitchen as Brooke began walking towards it.

"What's so funny?" Brooke asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Nothing," Haley said and tried to be quiet.

"Okay Haley what did you put on my…" Lucas began but Brooke suddenly burst out into laughter. On Lucas' back was tons of flour and it spelled out 'Eugene'.

"Eugene huh? So that's your middle name…" Jake noticed as he walked by. Lucas whipped around angrily.

"Haley! I thought I told you to never talk about that ever again after you told everyone in English class!" Lucas yelled.

"I guess I just forgot…" Haley smiled.

"Eugene." Brooke said under her breath and everyone joined in on the fun even Lucas gave up and started laughing.

"Okay Nathan, you can set that down right here," Karen directed as Nathan nodded and placed the turkey on the table, "Haley, we need to make some stuffing. Lucas, you and Nathan can be in charge of shoveling the snow outside."

The boys nodded and walked out the door.

"Jake and Peyton, you both are going to help with the mashed potatoes. And Mouth and Rachel can start on the cranberries when they aren't attached to each other."

"Oh the cranberries are already made!" Brooke exclaimed and Karen looked up at her.

"You made them?" Karen asked.

Brooke nodded.

"You sure have changed Brooke," Karen said and smiled proudly. "Okay then Rachel and Mouth can start on something simple, like putting together some vegetables."

Mouth and Rachel pulled apart and began giggling, "What was that Mrs. K?"

"I told you and Mouth to start on putting together some vegetables and I suggest you get a move on it because everyone is hungry and you would not want the boys blaming a late Thanksgiving dinner on you two."

"Yeah Rachel maybe we should…" Mouth began and Brooke cut him off, giggling.

"I'm sure you can take them Mouth," Brooke said.

"Oh yeah Mouth, I mean when we went to that racetrack you were pretty speedy on the running when a car was coming at you." Peyton commented and nodded her head. Jake laughed and kissed her forehead.

"I feel like my apartment is turning into the tunnel of love!" Brooke yelled after seeing the new couples all lovey dovey.

They all just smiled and continued doing their work.

"Is there anything you need me to do Karen?" Deb asked while walking in from the living room.

"You can start on some corn for everyone actually," Karen told her and Deb nodded and began walking over to the counter.

"Don't worry guys; there will be no liquor in the corn. That will be later," Deb giggled and nobody could tell if she was joking or serious. "Just watch out for the cheesecake."

I guess they would all find out later.

"Karen I feel so useless, is there anything that I can do?" Brooke asked.

"Well right now you can help either Jake and Peyton or Mouth and Rachel with their jobs and then afterwards you can help me."

- -

Brooke glanced around the room and spotted Mouth and Rachel getting all cuddly and inching closer to each other. Brooke could feel herself gagging and decided to choose Jake and Peyton, the homey but adorably cute couple.

"Hey Jeyton," Brooke greeted as she sat on the counter watching them peel potatoes.

"What did she just call us?" Jake asked, confused.

"Don't tell me your combining names again Brooke," Peyton groaned, "I thought this stopped after high school!"

"P. Sawyer, my nick names will never stop just like you will never stop being goldy locks or Haley will never stop being tutor girl and Lucas will never stop being broody and…"

"Okay Brooke, we get it. The nicknames are here to stay." Peyton interrupted laughing.

"So instead of being bitter about my nicknames how about you two kidlins tell me how you reconnected again?"

Jake and Peyton blushed.

"Do you want to say it babe or do you want me to take this one?" Jake asked Peyton.

"You can take it; I'm dying to hear you're side of the story." Peyton laughed.

"Okay, well it all started when I was studying abroad for my college and I got the opportunity to go to California," Jake began.

"That's studying abroad?"

"It is in Savannah," Jake answered, "Anyways, I got my parents to watch Jenny and I flew off half way across the country. When I got there I began studying really hard, wanting everything to work out for me and for myself to get a good job and be successful. And it was all going to plan until I saw a blonde curly haired green eyed girl walk down the street. After that, I was gone."

"Aw," Peyton cooed, "You're even cheesier then I was when I told my Dad the whole story."

"Wait you told you're Dad?"

"Yeah, and he says he wants to meet you next week." Peyton said and kissed him on the cheek.

"I should start practicing my speech now…"

"Enough!" Brooke yelled, breaking the moment, "Is that all that there is to your story?"

"Surprisingly no," Jake said, "Truth is, I didn't have the guts to talk to her until the last two weeks I was in California rolled around. I went up to her with all the courage I had and she ended up asking me out for coffee. And then we started to become friends, I had to move back to Savannah and let's just say Peyton came along for the ride."

Brooke smacked Peyton, "You never told me you went back with the Jagelski boy!"

"Yeah, well now you know, and now I can go and ice my arm," Peyton said while rubbing her throbbing arm. She walked over to the freezer to crab some ice cubes.

"So Jake, tell me, how are you two? Is it really going to be the final time you two are together?" Brooke whispered.

"I hope so," Jake whispered back, "I've only been ring shopping for the past week."

"But you two just started dating!" Brooke screeched.

"I know, I know, but I just know that she's the one for me. I'm going to wait a while but I just love carrying it around in my pocket. It's like it's for real, you know?"

Brooke nodded; she really did know the feeling. She always imagined that she and Lucas would get married and start a family together. She always knew Lucas was the one she wanted to grow old with and Lucas was also the only guy she could ever see in her future. No one even came close after him, not Chase, not Owen, and not even any of the other dates she had ever since moving here.

Peyton came back and Brooke gave Jake a hand signal, showing that she would keep her mouth shut about the ring. He smiled and nodded, and Brooke decided to be on her way to see Rachel and Mouth. It was a good thing she hadn't eaten yet.

As she strutted over to the glowing pair, she noticed how happy they both were. She didn't remember seeing Rachel that happy…ever. When Rachel was messing around with Cooper she was crying all the time, and when she was with her random one night stands she was always too hung over to feel any emotion. Seeing her with Mouth was a pleasant change.

And Mouth, Mouth was glowing just as much as Rachel was. She could see the true smile on his face whenever she whispered something in his ear or when her arm would lightly touch his. She couldn't believe that the sports announcer and the sassy cheerleader would ever get together. But the more she looked at them, the more they seemed…perfect.

"Hey lovebirds how are the vegetables going?"

"Pretty good actually. Mouth here was just showing me how to chop them and then he was going to mix them all."

"Sounds like a great strategy," Brooke smiled and rolled her eyes, "So are you ever going to tell me how in the world you two got together?"

"It's not that weird Brooke," Mouth commented while he began mixing the bowl.

"I know, I just want to know how this all started. I mean the last time I saw you Mouth you were so drunk that you kissed me. And Rachel the last time I saw you we were reenacting the Spice Girls dance. What happened with you guys?"

"Well after that night Rachel called me and said that we should keep in touch. Since things didn't exactly work out last time, when you guys had to come and pick me up, I agreed anyways. Ever since then we had been going out for coffee every morning for about a year until we decided to go steady which was about three months ago." Mouth explained.

"That's a lot of coffee."

Rachel snorted a laugh.

"And you guys are still in the newlywed stage even though you've been dating for three months?"

"Yep," Rachel smiled, "And we're still going strong."

"That's great you guys."

Mouth put the spoon down and turned to face Brooke, "You seem a little bit bitter about all the love that's going on in this room. And I think I know why."

"What are you talking about? I'm not bitter I just can't believe how much has changed in such a short period of time." Brooke said defensively.

"It's been two years Brooke," Rachel finally stepped in, "I mean we all missed you but we weren't going to just wait around for you to call and then get our lives on track."

Brooke was silent. They were right. Why would they wait around for her? She definitely hadn't waited around for them to move on and start a whole new life. It wasn't her place to point out how amazed she was they were together.

"I'm sorry you guys, I really didn't mean too I just really hated this holiday and then once you guys all showed up I got so excited but seeing you guys just made me think about everything I don't have. Love being the main component." Brooke said so quiet that Mouth and Rachel actually had to look at her mouth to hear the words coming out of it.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, I mean we haven't even told anyone yet and I guess we were both just nervous about how people would react and since you reacted that way it just triggered something in me. I think it was actually fear. Huh, who knew?" Rachel said and laughed.

Brooke smiled and hugged them both again. This was beginning to be just about the cheesiest night she had ever experienced.

"Okay Brooke, no more PDA in your apartment. It's your own rule," Mouth joked and Brooke let go giggling.

"Mom! Nathan and I are done shoveling the snow! Is it almost time for dinner?"

- -

The table was decorated with everything imaginable. There were colors all around too, red, green, brown, yellow, orange, purple, all the fall colors of the fall season. There was a delicious looking turkey placed in the center of the table, with cranberries on the right side of it and mashed potatoes on the left. Karen and Haley's stuffing was also placed on the table towards the center. The vegetables that Mouth and Rachel had cut up and tossed around were set towards the end of the table and the corn was placed on the end of the other side of the table. No one knew how they got the corn bread done but there it sat, next to the corn and looking absolutely amazing.

Brooke admired it before everyone started piling in. Most of them were upstairs getting ready for dinner and washing off all of the food particles that had splattered on them while cooking. Brooke was having conflicting emotions though, for she didn't really know how a real Thanksgiving was supposed to go. Was this how it was? Was there supposed to be food surrounding you and people in your apartment all over the place?

If so, she was getting the full experience. She was so grateful for everyone that was there. They even helped her with some of the decorations. Even though Brooke's taste is impeccable, Deb had some extra decorations just in case and decided to put some on. She now had leaves hanging from her fire place and a fake turkey pattern all along her unit. It looked warm, cozy, and homey, something she hadn't seen or felt for a long time.

And even for everything they had done for her, all through the night, cleaning up her driveway, cooking her food, decorating her place and just giving her company, she was still confused as to why they were there. She didn't deserve any of it and she just felt even guiltier as the things they did for her piled up.

The table started getting fuller and Brooke still hadn't sat down. Soon enough, all of the seats were taken except for one…that was sitting directly next to Lucas.

Brooke's breath caught in her throat. So far, she had managed to ignore him and the more she ignored him the more she thought he would go away. Yeah, guess that didn't work.

Lucas patted the seat next to him, "I saved you a seat."

Brooke's heart nearly melted. Leave it to Lucas to make Brooke jumpy before dinner.

"Thanks." She whispered and sat down.

"Okay, now instead of going around and saying everything we're thankful for, let's just go around and name one." Karen suggested.

Everyone nodded and Karen started it off. The order would go Karen, Deb, Nathan, Haley, Lucas, Brooke, Peyton, Jake, Mouth, and Rachel.

There were so many 'I am thankful for…'s that Brooke had lost count. Karen had said her family, Deb had said her health, Nathan had said Haley and his new family and friends, Haley had said Nathan and the love that we have right now, Peyton had said Jake and her father and her mother may she rest in peace, Jake had said Jenny and his family and of course Peyton, Mouth had said he was thankful that Rachel was back in his life along with all of us, and Rachel had said she was thankful she finally found true love but did not say with who.

But the one that surprised Brooke the most was the thanks that Lucas gave.

"I am thankful for…Brooke," He chuckled when everyone gasped. "In some way, she always put all of us back together even when anyone was down. And hey, she did let us invade her apartment today." Another chuckle from Lucas made everyone snap back to his attention. "And of course, thanks to my family and friends because without you guys I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be this happy."

Brooke's eyes began to tear up. She didn't want to start crying but Lucas and his damn words were making her cry. And she was right next to him to hear it all.

Brooke's little speech was actually so heartfelt that she actually _did_ start crying. For Lucas' speech and hers.

"I guess I am thankful for…all of you. I mean when I was younger I didn't have my parents around at this time of year and I didn't have anyone to spend Thanksgiving with. All I had was a nanny that would cook me food, let me decorate the house and then I would go to bed," She sniffled, "And the next day I would end up hanging out with Peyton and forgetting the whole night ever happened. But when you all showed up at my door I couldn't believe that the people I had left a couple years ago were back in my life. So I thank all of you for giving me a Thanksgiving I will remember for the rest of my life."

It was definitely something Brooke would not usually say. She was never that open with people around her and she actually felt pretty winded after she finished.

Sensing Brooke's discomfort, Peyton spoke up.

"So how about we dig into the feast!"

Everyone laughed and began eating.

- -

After the huge, but delicious dinner, everyone began to get up, claiming they couldn't sit down anymore without breaking their jeans.

Just as everyone started to sit down in the living room, Karen and Deb quickly sprung into action.

"Oh no you all don't," She commanded, "We still have to make desert!"

Groans came from every single one of the kids in the room. Everyone looked towards Lucas, wanting him to stand up to his mom and tell her that they needed some time to rest. Lucas sighed.

"Mom, don't you think we could maybe-"

"If that word is wait, then no," She said and everyone let out the breath they were holding, but it wasn't like they could hold their breath for long. "You guys can work off the dinner by helping bake everything. It's still only 8:00 and we have a lot more time left. So scoot!"

"Karen and I are going to go out and grab some supplies so were leaving it up to you guys to be ready when we get back so we can get a move on things. Do you think you guys can handle that?" Deb asked the group of adults, even though she couldn't believe it herself that they were no longer teenagers.

"Sure," They all mumbled. Karen and Deb nodded before retreating out the door with their big heavy coats and scarves with them.

After a long silence, Nathan was the first one to get up and everyone looked at him in disbelief.

"What? I'm sure I'll be hungry later and I'm going to want something sweet."

Haley laughed and Nathan grabbed her hand to pull her up. "Well then I'm ready to bake."

Nathan smiled and kissed his wife on the lips, sliding his hands around her waist and guiding her to the kitchen, their lips never leaving each others.

"Yeah, I guess we should," Peyton chimed in and Jake looked at her with a frown.

"We should?" He asked.

"We should," She nodded and laughed grabbing him and planting a kiss on his lips, coaxing him to the kitchen.

"Man I am so whipped!" Jake called before she dragged him into the kitchen.

"We should help too Rachel," Mouth said.

"Or…we could go upstairs?" She suggested, her eyebrows wiggling.

"Rachel…"

"Okay, okay I'm up," She grumbled and he grabbed her hand leading the way.

All that left was Lucas and Brooke. Brooke couldn't take the silence. She had to say something but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to talk about his toast. Why was this so hard for her? It wasn't like they were together and they definitely weren't bitter towards each other. Another ten minutes went by. She opted for silence and just smiled in his direction and nodded towards the kitchen. Luckily, Lucas caught her drift and followed her in.

When they arrived in the kitchen though, they didn't see much baking going on. Christmas music was blasting from the stereo and people were dancing. There was flour everywhere, along with bread crumbs, frosting, and many other food piles that she didn't even know about. And even better, everyone was throwing more around.

"What is going on here?" She yelled over the frantic mess in front of her.

Everyone paused and looked up at Brooke looking ashamed. Until Peyton burst into laughter and everyone couldn't stop.

"I'm not cleaning this up!" Brooke yelled and she began to hear Lucas giggling in back of her.

Before Brooke could say anything else, something white, powdery, and chunky came her way and hit her smack dab in the face. It was flour, and the worst part was, Brooke couldn't even see who threw it at her.

"Okay, now this officially war!" She announced and everyone laughed. She wiped the flour from her eyes and saw that Haley was the one with the fresh white hands.

"Hales! You're so going down!"

Haley laughed and began to run around the kitchen.

"Nathan, Haley is a maniac with the flour how do you put up with her when she bakes?" Lucas yelled to him remembering Haley's earlier prank with a certain middle name Lucas had.

"I make sure I'm out that day," Nathan said and Haley heard, stuffing some chocolate chips in his mouth.

Jake smashed some egg on Nathan's head and Nathan groaned, grabbing some flour and tossing it all over Jake's head so it looked like he had gray hair.

"I have to say babe, that is not a good look for you," Peyton giggled.

"How about this?" Jake asked and grabbed some frosting and splattered it all over face. She laughed and grabbed some more egg from the counter and threw it, missing Jake and hitting Lucas directly in the face.

"Peyton! I just showered!" Lucas whined and turned around to see Brooke laughed right along with everyone else.

"Oh so you think this is funny?" Lucas smiled and Brooke nodded shyly. Lucas grabbed a handful of nuts that were going to be used for brownies and threw them all over Brooke. She yelped and scrambled around the kitchen dodging other things that were flying in the air.

Mouth and Rachel were found in the corner with chocolate covered strawberries and kissing. Once everyone caught sight of them and groaned, they began throwing everything they had the secret couple in the corner.

"Boo!" They yelled and Mouth and Rachel broke apart.

Just then the Christmas music stopped, and everyone looked up.

"And just _what_ exactly is going on here?"

- -

And there they were, all seated at the wooden table once more. But this time, they were all covered in flour, eggs, chocolate chips, frosting, and nuts.

"You guys are lucky that we brought home some deserts for you all! We didn't know whether you guys would actually bake or not but now we see that you guys certainly used the ingredients!"

Karen and Deb look furious, and the rest of them all had to try and stop giggling. To make matters worse or _funnier_ in their case, all of them were hungry again.

"Now, after our wonderful store bought desert you will all go and clean yourselves up and we will meet down here in two hours. I'm guessing maybe longer since you all will have to take a shower...alone." Karen commanded and they nodded their heads, and covering their mouths to keep them from laughing.

They all ate in silence for the first few minutes until Nathan touched the full egg that was propped up on his head. Upon doing this, the egg fell right onto his plate and Nathan had a disgusted look on his face. After that, it was all erased and the laughter began once more.

They finished their desert, being full once more, and they all lined up to go upstairs and get cleaned up one by one. Karen had a strict no couples showering rule, which no one had the strength to argue with at the moment.

When the room suddenly felt very crowded, Brooke felt claustrophobic and ran outside to get some fresh air.

It was cold enough to snow, she thought and if she had one wish for tonight, it would be that it would start to snow right now. She didn't need many wishes tonight, for she had everything she could have ever hoped for in a Thanksgiving, but snowing was the one thing she always loved and she especially loved when it snowed on Thanksgiving.

Sensing she wasn't alone and then realizing that someone was next to her, she shivered.

"Are you cold?" Lucas' soft voice asked and she shivered once more. Whether it was from the cold or Lucas, she didn't know and she didn't really want to find out.

"A little," She began, "But I'm okay."

Silence enveloped them and Brooke realized that she needed some answers. Lucas couldn't just show up after two or three years and tell her that she was thankful for her. In all seriousness, they hadn't talked since the day she left for California with Peyton. There were no phone calls, no e-mails, not even stories from anyone else about Lucas. Lucas was completely out of her life until now. And finding out that he was thankful for her which could possibly mean that he was thinking about her for the past two to three years was all just too much for her.

"Lucas," She turned to him, the wind picking up and blowing her hair perfectly out of her face, "Did you mean what you said at the table?"

He stepped closer to her, now leaning on the balcony, "Yes."

"But how?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we haven't talked for two years and I haven't heard anything about you other then you wrote a book about Peyton and I just…I don't know I guess I'm confused as to why you would thank me when we haven't talked in ages." She said and looked down at her feet, embarrassed that she was still talking about this even though she wasn't in high school anymore.

"Did you read the book that I wrote?" He asked softly.

She shook her head, "No, but I know that it's about Peyton."

He laughed softly at her stubbornness.

"Brooke, if you would have read the book you would have realized that it wasn't all about Peyton but that most of it was about you."

She looked up, hope glimmering in her eyes.

"I wrote about my life, Brooke and you were such a big part of my life that I couldn't _not_ write about you."

She turned around, facing the sky and leaning on the railing of the balcony so Lucas wouldn't see her large smile. Lucas sighed and stood next to her, now facing the sky as well and glancing in her direction every so often.

"How did you know that I hated this holiday? I never told you. And how did you rally everyone together? Actually, _why _did you rally everyone together?"

He paused for a long moment before answering, "Nobody wants to be alone during the holidays."

She now looked at him, showing her wide smile and exposing her bright dimples. "That still doesn't explain how you knew that I hated Thanksgiving."

He smiled back, loving the way her smile suited her. "You actually did tell me one time. It was when we first started going out. It was in fact right after you told me you were worried about Peyton and me still harboring some feelings for each other. We were talking about how we wanted the same things when we were older and you told me that you would want all of our friends at our house on Thanksgiving because you hated being alone like you are now. You maybe not remember it Brooke, but it's something that will stay in my mind forever."

"I never stopped being in love with you," She admitted, feeling that it was the right time to explain to herself and to him about how she was really feeling.

"I know," He said and for a minute he saw Brooke's eyes dim down, "And neither have I, which was also one of the reasons I wanted to come and see you. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I'm so sorry," She whispered over and over. "I haven't stayed in touch with anyone and I blocked everyone out when in all actuality I haven't been doing very well. I've been sad and lonely for the past two years and tonight was the first night I think I've smiled in months."

A tear trickled down her cheek and Lucas stepped closer to her, wiping it away.

"Well you can count on more of those smiles because I'm not going anywhere."

"You mean it?" She whispered their faces just centimeters apart.

"Yes," He whispered and leaned down to give her a soft, gentle kiss that swept Brooke completely off her feet. She kissed him back with all of the passion she could, and all of the want that she had since the last time she saw him. She missed the warm and comforting feeling she felt when she was in his arms. The way he would hold her completely, like he didn't want her anywhere else. They broke apart, both feeling something on their heads and faces, and realized that it was snowing. Full on, full snow and soft falling snowflakes crowding the air.

Brooke smiled at Lucas and then squealed much like she did when Lucas said he would take Brooke to Keith and Jules' wedding. The old Brooke Davis was back, with more cheerfulness and giddiness then before. She could now enjoy the night.

"We have to tell everyone!" She exclaimed and pulled Lucas along, him laughing the whole way.

- -

When Brooke sprinted into the apartment, pulling Lucas along with her, she saw that everyone was waiting to go into the shower. Brooke made sure she had two in her apartment, which apparently was a good idea.

"You guys!" She called excitedly and everyone turned their heads towards her. "You will never believe what just happened!"

"Lucas finally told you his feelings and you both are going out?" Haley asked from the couch where she and Nathan were sitting entangled in each other.

"What? How did you know about my feelings?" Lucas asked.

"You wouldn't stop mumbling her name in your sleep the whole car ride over!" Haley giggled.

Lucas blushed, and Brooke just smiled wide and squeezed Lucas' hand.

"Well we will explain that later but right now it's snowing!" She yelled and Haley and Nathan got up along with Deb and Karen and ran to the window.

"It's like a blizzard out there too!" Deb exclaimed.

Brooke sighed, "Now it's truly Thanksgiving."

Everyone stood there, watching the snowfall and enjoying the peace that fell upon them all until Brooke realized something.

"Karen," She began, "You do know that were missing two couples and I have two showers in my apartment so that would mean…"

"Oh no they don't!" Karen yelled and began marching up the stairs.

Turning to Lucas and smiling when she saw Nathan, Haley, and Deb retreat to couch, she whispered,

"Now were alone."

He kissed her softly and they snuggled closer, watching as every one of the snowflakes fell to the gleaming white ground.

Once everyone was done with their showers, they all settled down in their fleece pajamas, Mouth being the only one with footie fleece pajamas.

"Dude, what happened to you?" Nathan asked as Mouth came down the stairs.

"This was the only pair left that would fit me."

Nathan shook his head and Karen and Deb came into the room with hot chocolate.

"Just something we thought we should end the night with." Deb told all of them while Karen passed them out.

Lucas and Brooke were sitting on the far end of the couch when Deb's words really hit Brooke at home. They would all spend the night and then just disappear for however many years afterwards. She couldn't deal with them leaving again. She had just found herself once more and now she was with Lucas, things couldn't possibly change _now_.

"No!" Brooke cried and everyone looked in her direction.

"Brooke, babe, what's wrong?" Lucas asked as he held onto her tighter.

"I don't want you all to go. Once you all walk out of that door it's like you'll all be gone again. You all don't understand, this is the first time I've felt happy in such a long time and now it feels like everything is going down again and I won't be myself anymore."

The room was silent for a bit, until Peyton spoke up.

"Brooke, we'll never leave you. I mean we came all this way to spend the night with you it's not like were just going to up and leave with no communication later."

Jake put his arm around Peyton and drew her closer to him while nodding.

"We're never going to lose touch. And this goes for everyone. I mean we don't all live in the same places but we can always get together all through the year."

"Yeah, and some of us are moving this year so we can all be closer anyways." Haley commented.

"Who's moving?" Brooke asked.

"Us," Jake and Peyton announced, "As much as we adore Savannah we were thinking about moving back to Tree Hill. It'll be fun considering we have so many memories there. And my mom would really like it if I stayed in my hometown."

"You're mom would be happy wherever you went." Karen told Peyton and Peyton smiled sadly.

Jake kissed her forehead and she folded into him.

"I'm sorry for being this emotional when I should just shut up and enjoy it but I can't. Not until we get a system worked out." Brooke told everyone while holding onto Lucas tighter.

"Well how about we get together for every holiday?" Rachel suggested and Mouth nodded next to her.

"Sound's good to me. My parents don't even really do holidays anymore."

"And I can always take my mom with me," Lucas said and smiled at Karen.

"So can I," Nathan began, "Considering my Dad is in jail and we are finally free like we've always talked about."

Deb rubbed Nathan's back and then smiled.

"It looks like we've got our system."

Brooke nodded, "Okay, but if we can't make the holidays then we immediately call each other and plan for another day."

"Deal, and you know Brooke, we don't have to get together _just_ for the holidays. There's always going to be random visits." Haley reassured her.

"And don't we all love those," Rachel deadpanned. Haley glared at her.

"Okay children, time to hit the sack!" Karen called and everyone whined.

"We're not children!" Nathan exclaimed.

"I'm pretty tired Nate," Mouth yawned and pretty soon everyone followed.

"You and Deb can take the bedrooms upstairs and we can all sleep on the floor, I'm sure we don't mind."

"I do!" Rachel yelled.

"Goodnight everyone," Deb and Karen called from the stairs.

- -

Everyone got situated in their sleeping bags and on the couch. Mouth and Rachel cuddled together, along with Nathan and Haley, Jake and Peyton, and Lucas and Brooke. It was just like old times, and Brooke was so happy she could've burst. She reached for the camera and snapped a bunch of pictures of the sleeping couples and saving some room for her and Lucas later. Everyone looked so peaceful and Brooke wondered if they were okay before this visit. She knew she sure wasn't, but now it was somehow like her hope was restored.

"Lucas?" Brooke whispered in his ear.

"Mmm?" He asked without even opening up his eyes. Their limbs were intertwined with each other's and they were lying softly on the floor wrapped up in fleece blankets. Ones that Brooke made all by herself.

"We're going to be okay, right?"

"Of course," He began, slowly opening his eyes, "Better then okay actually."

"But how will we see each other again?" She asked her voice a little shaky like she didn't want to know the answer.

"Well with Nathan, Haley and I in Tree Hill, Mouth and Rachel in New York with you, and Jake and Peyton in Savannah and soon to be Tree Hill again, we can definitely work something out."

"I design clothes you know," She whispered like it was her greatest secret.

"I know," He whispered and smiled, "I've been keeping tabs on you. They all love your designs."

Brooke suddenly grinned so loud it almost woke everybody up.

"Lucas that's it!" She exclaimed.

"What babe?"

"I design clothes!"

"I know and you're a very good designer…"

"Which means I can design from anywhere I want! Which means I can move with you back to Tree Hill and be closer to you and Nathan and Haley and now Jake and Peyton! It's perfect!"

Lucas sat up, pondering the whole thing. He then had a bright smile on his face.

"Perfect," He whispered and kissed her straight on the lips and laid her slowly down on the floor, having them both cuddling and falling asleep in minutes.

- -

Breakfast was served once they all got up, which was actually pretty late. Karen and Deb had woken up practically at the crack of dawn and made the breakfast for everyone which was a blessing for them. They were all rubbing their eyes and fixing their scrunched up pajamas when they arrived in the kitchen. They all found spots, not even caring whether they were next to their boyfriend or girlfriend.

"Crazy night," Jake said, breaking the silence.

They all just grunted and nodded their heads, too tired and not looking forward to the long way back they had.

They finished up, and Brooke and Peyton decided to clear the table while the rest of them packed up and got ready to go.

"I'll pack your things," Jake told Peyton and kissed her while spinning her around. She laughed and he grinned as he walked away.

"Wow, did you ever think you'd be as cheesy as a fairytale Peyton Sawyer?" Brooke asked as they gathered dishes.

"I didn't, until I met him." She laughed.

Silence grew again and Brooke put her head down. She hadn't talked to Peyton much after Peyton jump started her career in California whilst Brooke was beginning in New York. They had lost touch and Brooke was scared that would happen again.

"I meant it when I said we would keep in touch Brooke," Peyton said while reaching for another dish on the table, "And I'm so sorry for ditching you in California. I shouldn't have, and I was just so selfish back then that I can't even believe I did that looking back now. I just-"

"Was chasing your dream. Don't worry about it, it was better that I came here." Brooke said even though she wasn't so sure. But then again, if she hadn't then this night would have never happened.

Peyton nodded, and the gesture brought Brooke all the way back to high school. She remembered the brooding blonde with curly hair that could wipe out an army. She was so different now, and for a second Brooke missed the moody girl she was friends with in high school no matter how many times she hurt her.

"I don't blame you for anything either Peyton, just letting you know."

Peyton looked up at her and just dove right into her arms. She clasped her hands around Brooke's neck and hugged her tight. It was a long overdue hug that felt so good to have now.

Their hug was broken by the sound of something crashing and Nathan yelling about his foot.

"Same old Nathan," Peyton mumbled.

Brooke smiled, "Yeah, same old Nathan."

- -

They were all lined up at the door, carrying their belongings and looking like they didn't want to go.

"Thanks so much you guys," Brooke told them trying to keep herself in check, "I won't be anymore cheesier then I was last night so all I'm going to say is that I am going to see you soon. Christmas is right around the corner!" She squealed and everyone either groaned or laughed at her enthusiasm. Everyone could see that the Brooke Davis they used to know was nowhere near who she was when they arrived. Slowly but surely though, she seeped back through and they couldn't help but smile when they saw her happy.

Brooke hugged them all, squeezing tight on Haley and telling her that she missed her tutorgirl. Haley smiled and replied with how she missed her tigger. Then she whispered in Haley's ears her future plans and Haley squealed just like Brooke did moments ago. She told Peyton too, and Rachel and Mouth and Karen and Deb, she also had said goodbye to every one of them and all that was left was Lucas. Her Lucas. Finally, she had Lucas all to herself and he had Brooke all to his self too. The timing was finally right in their rollercoaster love tale.

Everyone was basically in the car when Lucas walked over to her.

"So thanks for the one night stand," He joked.

"It was pretty great, but I can't say I'll call you later, I'd just be leading you on."

"I'd be too busy anyways with all of the girls back home." Lucas said lifting his head high and moving closer to Brooke.

"You're lucky you can get this girl right here." She whispered and stepped closer to him.

He dipped his head low, stared her straight in the eyes and said, "You're right, I am."

It gave her chills and she kissed him then, holding on tight while he wrapped his arms around her.

"I'll see you soon," He told her and then the door creaked shut and everyone was gone. She felt the same loneliness she felt when she first moved into the apartment but she then realized she was worn out.

Walking to the couch, Brooke saw the camera sitting on the coffee table. She looked through all the pictures that she took and pictures that others must have taken through the night. She laughed at most of them, having the images be the not so flattering of the people in them. Once they were all out, Brooke sat back and smiled, realizing this was her first ever, perfect Thanksgiving. Throw in being wrapped up in cranberry love and she would do it all over again, no questions asked.

"This is just the beginning," She whispered to herself as she snuggled up in the blankets that her friends had used just hours before and wrapped herself in the comfort.

**Liked it? Loved it? Maybe? Please review and tell me what you thought!**


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